It was first used for the 1998 Asian Games in 1998. Since then, it has been used for many international matches and football tournaments. Most notably, for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Thai club sides have also used the stadium when playing in continental cup competitions. Krung Thai Bank FC (now Bangkok Glass FC) used it for AFC Champions League matches, and PEA FC and Chonburi FC have recently used it in the AFC Cup. Aside from football, it has been used for athletics, pop concerts and political rallies.

Rajamangala Stadium was designed by the Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University. The main material used in construction was concrete and therefore, though the stadium is impressive and imposing, it could never be described as beautiful. However, it is undoubtedly dramatic. The stands rise and fall like a giant, exaggerated version of Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium. At each end are quite narrow tiers of seats but the tiers rise and rise as they move round the sides until they peak level with the half-way line. From an aesthetic point-of-view, the stadium is best viewed from a distance, preferably from the air, where the elliptical shape of the side tribunes seems particularly pronounced.